One Day in Europe (2005)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Hannes Stöhr

Country

Germany | Spain

Cast

Megan Fay, Lyudmila Tsvetkova, Andrey Sokolov, Oleg Assadulin, Vita Saval, Nikolai Svechnikov, Luis Tosar, Boris Arquier, Florian Lukas, Erdal Yildiz, Nuray Sahin, Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Péter Scherer, Miguel de Lira, Mónica García, Víctor Mosqueira, Marta Pazos, Blanca Cendán, Patricia de Lorenzo, Jesus Ron, Kalin Foz, Rachida Brakni, Kirsten Block, Tom Jahn, Facundo Diab

Storyline

The day of the Champions League final between Galatasaray and Deportivo la Coruña stops life in four European cities, adding to the problems of tourists in trouble, who are already struggling with the language barrier.

Opinion

Since this film was suggested by the same person who suggest Caramel, I thought I would have like it. The problem is that it's plenty of anthology films, I've seen several, and this one does nothing to pop out.

Delivered by mostly flat performances, One Day in Europe is tedious, not funny as a comedy is supposed to be, and gets lost in repetitiveness.

There are two unifying plot elements: luggage insurance, and a football game. While the first is pretty smooth and works fine, the second one feels out of place. I'm European and I know there is nothing more unifying than passion for football. Every single football lover watches the Champions League finale -- I wait for it the whole season actually, and I'm sure it's plenty of people like me. The problem is that only the local seems interested in the football match. None of our tourists care. I know that they are neither Spanish nor Turkish so there is a lower chance of them supporting the finalists, yet they seems so disinterested like they don't even know the sport. The only purpose of the game seems to be a benefit for frauds.

The stories aren't very engaging, but if I had to choose one, I'd pick the Santiago the Compostela because Péter Scherer well plays the character, and makes you care for him.

The humour is built on international differences and communication problems. Too bad the jokes get lost in translation. 

I cannot comprehend the reason why this film was nominated for Golden Bear. Maybe it's because of one of the stories takes place in Berlin. 

Twice Born (2012)

Original Title

Venuto al mondo

Genre

Drama | Romance | War

Director

Sergio Castellitto

Country

Italy | Spain

Cast

Penélope Cruz, Emile Hirsch, Adnan Haskovic, Saadet Aksoy, Pietro Castellitto, Luca De Filippo, Mira Furlan, Jane Birkin, Sergio Castellitto, Branko Djuric, Isabelle Adriani, Jovan Divjak, Sanja Vejnovic, Emina Muftic

Plot

Oft-married Gemma (Penélope Cruz) brings her teenage son Pietro (Pietro Castellitto) to Sarajevo, where his father (Emile Hirsch) died in the Bosnian conflict years ago.

Opinion

I haven't read the novel by Margaret Mazzantini, but the person who recommended me this film did, and enjoyed both, so I gave the film a try.

Twice Born is an ambitious and complex film that deals with love, motherhood at any cost, and horrors of war.

The film is certainly well built, and the direction from Sergio Castellitto - the novelist's husband - is great and manages to show love and war in the same moment, often leaving room for glances and music. Moving forward and backwards in time is certainly not new, but it always fascinates me. 

Penélope Cruz gives a magnificent and intense performance as Gemma. Needless to say is that Emile Hirsch's performance as Diego is wonderful. Adnan Haskovic as Gojco and Saadet Aksoy as Aska are outstanding. 

Having said that, I can't see how it is even possible for this film to have a 17% rating at Rotten Tomatoes, because if those people have actually seen this film, there is no way they could have give all those negative reviews.

Just a little note for whoever translated the title in English: why 'Twice Born'? It doesn't really make sense, it should have been 'Came to the world' or something like that.

Quotes

Diego: The weirdest love stories are always the best.

Gojco: Love only comes once. It moves like the sea. But it's always the same.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Original Title

El laberinto del fauno

Genre

Drama | Fantasy | War

Director

Guillermo del Toro

Country

Spain | Mexico

Cast

Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo, Manolo Solo, César Vea, Roger Casamajor, Federico Luppi, Pablo Adán

Plot

In the falangist Spain of 1944, armed with only her imagination, young Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) discovers a mysterious labyrinth and meets a faun who sets her on a path to saving herself and her ailing mother.

Opinion

Pan's Labyrinth is an undefined film, a dark fairy tale for grown ups, halfway between the fantasy and the real world, which, in this case, is war. By looking around, I figured this is the main reason why many did not like the film. Having said this, I really liked it.

Guillermo del Toro, which deals with brutality and innocence, has created something different, something special. The continuous alternation between reality and fantasy, lived through a little girl's eyes, has an addictive rhythm.

Sergi López is excellent as the brutal and sadistic falangist Captain Vidal. Ivana Baquero, 11-year-old at that time, delivers a great performance.

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy/Rent on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Ofelia: Many, many years ago in a sad, faraway land, there was an enormous mountain made of rough, black stone. At sunset, on top of that mountain, a magic rose blossomed every night that made whoever plucked it immortal. But no one dared go near it because its thorns were full of poison. Men talked amongst themselves about their fear of death, and pain, but never about the promise of eternal life. And every day, the rose wilted, unable to bequeath its gift to anyone... forgotten and lost at the top of that cold, dark mountain, forever alone, until the end of time.

Rating

8.5/10

Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)

Genre

Action | Adventure | Drama

Director

Ridley Scott

Country

Spain | United Kingdom | United States

Cast

Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Ben Kingsley, Sigourney Weaver, María Valverde, Indira Varma, Hiam Abbass, Kevork Malikyan, Anton Alexander, Golshifteh Farahani, Tara Fitzgerald, Dar Salim, Andrew Tarbet, Isaac Andrews

Plot

In the ancient tale of the Hebrews, Moses (Christian Bale) gathers the faith to free his 400,000 enslaved people from the Egyptian Rule. King Ramses (Joel Edgerton), who he grew up with, must face his once best friend in a battle that exceeds the mere mortals and endures the act of God.

Opinion

Exodus: Gods and Kings is a huge disappointment. This story, which has been told and retold for thousands of years, deserved something better than this. And it really means a lot coming from an atheist. Ridley Scott brought to the screen his own interpretation of the Bible, and is it good? No, it isn't. $140 Million probably spent for special effects, costumes and a cast full of stars, but surely not on the script. I was expecting a spectacular Red Sea parting, but there is no trace of it. It is a mystery how Scott did such a poor movie.

Christian Bale is mediocre, delivering an emotionless performance - I wasn't expecting this from him at all. Joel Edgerton is surprisingly good.

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Ramses: You sleep well because you know that you're loved. I've never sleep that well.

Moses: Follow me and you will be free. Stay and you will perish.

Rating

5.0/10

The Sea Inside (2004)

Original Title

Mar Adentro

Genre

Biography | Drama

Director

Alejandro Amenábar

Country

Spain

Cast

Javier Bardem, Belén Rueda, Mabel Riveira, Lola Dueñas, Celso Bugallo, Clara Segura, Joan Dalmau, Alberto Jiménez, Tamar Novas, Francesc Garrido, José María Pou, Alberto Amarilla, Andrea Occhipinti

Plot

Based on a true story, the film tells the story of Ramón Sampedro (Javier Bardem), a man bedridden due to an accident: a dive from a cliff that went wrong, that left him a quadriplegic. He spends his time looking out of the window and writing poetry. After 25 years of living in this way, he tries a legal battle against the Spanish government for the right of euthanasia: his only desire is to die.

Opinion

The Sea Inside is a masterpiece. Usually films about euthanasia tend to be influenced by a part of humanity (in favor or not of euthanasia), but this is not the case. This film is able to enhance and deliver the feelings of the characters involved and doesn't take sides. Loved Ramón's permanent smile and his sense of humor.
The scene that impressed me the most is a pure fantasy one: Ramón flies through the window up to the beach, on the tune of Puccini's Nessun Dorma. 

Quotes

Ramón: When you can't escape, and you constantly rely on everyone else, you learn to cry by smiling, you know?

Padre Francisco: Freedom without a life is not freedom.
Ramón: A life without freedom is not a life.